


I Can't Promise You Forever

by clgfanfic



Series: Houston Knights - Forever Series [5]
Category: Houston Knights
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-30
Updated: 2012-10-30
Packaged: 2017-11-17 08:36:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/549646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clgfanfic/pseuds/clgfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a tag to the story "Forever's Just a Breath Away"</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Can't Promise You Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published in the zine One in Ten #2 under the pen name Duval.

Joseph LaFiamma cradled the paper cup, half full of cold coffee, and stared at the dark surface, trying to perceive the future.  Lundy would live, of that he was absolutely sure, but beyond that basic fact he was ambivalent.  His jaw ground, anger and fear pounding through his body like a surge of adrenaline.  He wanted to stand, hurl the cup across the room and rail against the wounded blond, but he couldn't.  Scattered around the hospital waiting room, several people sat, reading, napping, or talking softly.

He ignored them, focusing instead on the surface of his coffee and the events that had brought them here.  He knew it was directly tied to the last time he himself had laid in a hospital bed exactly three weeks ago.  He'd been bruised and battered, a technicolor marvel, with aching ribs, a mild concussion and a kidney they weren't sure was going to make it.

He trembled slightly, remembering the fear and helplessness he'd felt when he became the victim of an assault while working undercover in Houston's gay community.  He was there to catch the people who'd beaten him, a group of teenaged bashers whose "sport" had turned deadly.  Four men had died before they'd managed to catch them in the act of another assault – on LaFiamma.

The Italian knew Lundy blamed himself for not reaching him soon enough the first time he was attacked, and that guilt had only deepened when Joe was attacked a second time, but at least they'd nailed the kids who were responsible.  One of them even agreed to testify against the others, and despite a relatively convincing insanity plea by the ringleader's attorney the jury had see fit to convict all the teens of murder.

It was a victory for the HPD and the gay community, but for Lundy it was a hollow one.  He'd been forced to watch his partner and lover be attacked and beaten not once, but twice.  He'd been forced to endure LaFiamma's two hospital stays.

LaFiamma smiled faintly, remembering how they'd made love when he came home from the hospital the second time.  But even then he'd known Lundy was fighting a major case of the guilts.  It wasn't until the following Monday that the real problems had started.  Lundy was playing mother hen with a vengeance.         LaFiamma knew it was going to happen, expected it to happen, but he'd also expected it to wear off in a week or so.  It hadn't.  Exactly three weeks later and Lundy was still keeping him on a short leash and taking unnecessary chances, and this time it got him shot.  He'd live, but what if the injury took him off the streets?

Maybe he should've confronted his partner about it that first Monday.  Maybe he should've pounded the Texan into the dirt to make his point, God knew that that's what it sometimes took to get through to the man.  Maybe he should've taken Lundy up on the idea of a vacation, the two of them slipping down to New Orleans to spend a few days in the Quarter and get their heads back on straight.  Maybe he should've just called for backup sooner and then waited for them before walking into that warehouse…

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

"Damn it, LaFiamma, we oughta wait for the backup," Lundy growled, following his partner to the side of the dirty, dock-side building.

"We wait any longer that buy's going to be over and all our evidence will be headed back to Mexico," Joe argued.  "We've been looking to nail these guys for over a year, I don't want to blow this opportunity."

Lundy swore softly under his breath.  "All right, how we gonna play it?"

"I'll take the south entrance, you come in from the north.  We'll get them between us and hold them until backup arrives.  I just don't want to give them a chance to slip this."

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

It had been a simple plan.  Too simple.  There were more men there than he'd expected – more men, more drugs, more money and more weapons.  Nobody suspected that the weathered old building was a front for a meth-lab, but they should have.  And if they'd waited for word back from Vice, they would have known.  But no, he was in too much of a hurry, wanting to make sure Diego and his Korean partner were caught with enough incriminating evidence to put them away for life in a federal prison.  So he'd risked his own life and Lundy's, too…

LaFiamma looked up at the sound of a throat being softly cleared.  An older Hispanic woman stood before him, black and grey hair pulled back into a functional bun, a crucifix hanging around her neck.  He stifled the urge to cross himself for luck.  The woman's pale green lab coat and brighter green name tag announced her as Dr. Elena Hildalgo.

"Detective LaFiamma?" she asked.

He nodded, standing.  "How's Lundy?"

"Let's walk," she suggested.

LaFiamma nodded and followed her down the hallway to the elevators.  Once inside she pushed three and said, "Mr. Lundy is doing very well.  He's in recovery."  She gaze swept over his dirty, disheveled clothes and she asked, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," LaFiamma assured.  "And his shoulder?" he asked, his voice stripped of hope, just in case.

"With some physical therapy his shoulder should be fine," she said as the elevator door opened and she led him to the cafeteria where they each settled for coffee.  "We were a little concerned at first; there was some existing scar tissue from a previous injury…"  She took two long sips and sighed heavily.  "Forgive me, Detective, it's been a very long day."

"I understand," he said, warming to the older woman.

She gave him a reassuring smile.  "I think he will be fine."

"That's very good news," Joe sighed, rubbing his eyes.  "When can I see him?"

"As soon as we move him into a private room," she said.  "An hour or so."

"Thanks," he said.

"You can check with anyone at the information desk in the surgical wing."

Dr. Hildalgo finished her coffee and stood.  "I'm afraid I need to get back to work," she explained.  "Please, stay here, enjoy your coffee, eat something."

LaFiamma nodded, but he had no intention of putting any food into his roiling stomach.  He watched her leave, then took his coffee and headed back for the waiting area.  Once settled, his thoughts kept straying back to the shooting…

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

They entered the warehouse at opposite ends, working their way toward the middle where Diego and Soon were engaged in the business of trading arms and drugs for lots and lots of money.  Everything seemed to go perfectly.  They had the men and their goons in a crossfire, but they hadn't counted on the goons' willingness to die to protect their bosses.

All hell broke loose as soon as they announced themselves.  Diego and Soon grabbed the money, their lackeys opening fire on the two detectives.  Sirens drowned out the cadence of gunfire as their back-up arrived, sealing off the south end of the warehouse.

The arrival of the police panicked the lab workers, who poured up from below the warehouse flood-boards like roaches running from a flood.  Someone touched the lab, and smoke quickly filled the building, flames lapping up from the floor as the fire burned through the wood.

Lundy and LaFiamma focused on the two ringleaders, each following the pair, working them towards the other in a squeeze play.  And it looked like it was going to work.  They called for the two men to freeze, and they had, their hands coming up.  Then one of the goons appeared out of the smoke, Lundy and LaFiamma both spotting the man at the same time.

The man raised his revolver and Lundy reacted first, sprinting towards LaFiamma, the bullet catching him in the shoulder and slamming him into the floor before the Italian could do anything to stop it.  LaFiamma fired, dropping the shooter, his twin automatics immediately swinging back to cover Diego and Soon.

Lundy, curled into a ball, then unfolded and rolled up and climbed to his feet, still clutching his Colt.  His free hand covered the bleeding wound.

"Are you nuts?!" LaFiamma exploded, then choked when he sucked in smoke.

Lundy ignored the comment, moving in on the two men, kicking their dropped weapons away.

Carol and Estaban moved in, taking the two men away while Joe moved to Lundy's side.  "Come on," he said.  "Let's get the hell out of here."

Lundy nodded, managing three steps before the shock of the wound and the smoke buckled his knees.  LaFiamma helped him to his feet, then wrapped one arm around the man's waist and helped him out.  Two ambulance attendants took over, moving the Texan to a gurney and starting to work on him.

LaFiamma coughed again and someone handed him an oxygen mask.  He placed it over his mouth and sucked in the clean air, watching the men working on Lundy.  When they finished they loaded Lundy into the back of the ambulance and pulled away, siren blaring.  How he'd actually gotten to the hospital himself LaFiamma wasn't sure.

He scooted down in his chair, stretching his legs out in front of him.  He was tired, and dirty, and he smelled like smoke.  His eyes dropped closed, but he shook his head to stay awake.  After he saw Lundy he'd go home and clean up, get some sleep…

He checked his watch, noting the smudge of dirt and grease on his cream-colored silk shirt for the first time.  The realization of what he must look like sank in.  He probably looked like he'd just fought a fire all by himself.  No wonder people had been staring at him when he's first arrived at the hospital.  He probably looked more like a patient than a visitor.

He looked at the watch again.  One hour and ten minutes.

"Mr. LaFiamma?" called the young woman at the desk.

He glanced at her, sitting up straight.  "That's me."

"Dr. Hildalgo just called.  Mr. Lundy's in room 312 now, you can go on up," the pretty brunette told him with a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks," he replied, nearly bolting for the elevators.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

LaFiamma stepped into the room, his gaze sweeping over Lundy and the room, looking for medical equipment and finding an IV stand and nothing more.  He sighed with relief, then stepped up to the narrow bed, reaching over the guardrail to gently squeeze Lundy's uninjured arm.

"Lundy, you awake?"

Levon blinked and opened his eyes.  "Yeah, 'm 'wake," he managed around a dry mouth.  "Water?"

"You know you have to wait until the anesthesia wears off before you can drink anything," LaFiamma reminded, turning and looking around the room.  On a small shelf not far away set a plastic cup full of crushed ice.

"Here," he said, moving to grab the cup and carrying it back to the bedside.  Dipping into the ice with his fingers, Joe captured a piece and held it to Lundy's lips. The blond sucked the ice off, then kissed the proffered fingertips before LaFiamma could pull them away.

"Ya taste smoky," the blond whispered.

The Italian grinned, watching Lundy roll the ice around in his mouth.  "That help?"

"Yeah," Lundy said.  "One more?  Big one."

LaFiamma fished another, larger piece out and held it to his partner's lips.  Lundy's mouth closed over the ice and Joe's fingertips, sucking softly.  "Hmm, I kinda like that… like you've been banking the fireplace."

Joe reached out and stroked Lundy's cheek with a knuckle.  "You're one damned lucky Texan."

"So the doc said."

"That was a stupid move today, Lundy."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that one out all by myself," he admitted sheepishly.

"I know why you did it," LaFiamma continued.  "But—"

"I know," Lundy interrupted.  "I better not ever do it again or you're a'gonna shoot me yourself."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Joe said, adding under his breath, "more or less."

Lundy grinned sleepily.  "Even when I was doin' it, I knew it was foolish, but I couldn't stop myself."  He met LaFiamma's gaze, the grin fading.  "All I could see was you, lyin' there in the street."

"Get some rest, Lundy," Joe instructed, leaning over to kiss the man's forehead.  "We'll talk this out when you're feeling better."

"Guess so," Lundy murmured, his eyes falling closed.

LaFiamma waited for a moment to make sure his partner was asleep, then turned and headed home.  He was long overdue for a date with a hot shower, a cold beer and what he knew was going to be a very empty bed.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

Several days later Lundy and the nurses were equally glad to see him go.  LaFiamma volunteered to wheel his partner out to the waiting Jimmy, and the petite blonde nurse who had been given that assignment expressed her thanks with a sexy smile and business cards not-so-discreetly pressed into Joe's hand.

Lundy waited until the woman was gone to snort and shake his head.  "If she only knew."

"Tell me about it," LaFiamma said, pocketing the card.  He set a plastic bag full of supplies on Lundy's lap, then grabbed the handles and wheeled his partner out to the waiting truck and helped him stand.

"I'm fine," Lundy snapped, slapping LaFiamma's hand away when he started to reach for the door.

"Have it your way," Joe countered, carrying the bag around to the back of the truck and setting it inside.  He waited for Lundy to get comfortable before climbing in and starting the engine.  He pulled away from the curb, then out into traffic, neither man speaking until they reached the highway and headed for the ranch.

"How's it feel?" LaFiamma asked.

"Not bad," Lundy admitted.  "Damned physical therapist is a sadist, though."

Joe tried not to grin, but felt the corners of his mouth twitch.  "Yeah, she kind of reminds me of that head nurse from _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_."

Lundy shot his partner a dark scowl.  "Very funny.  You oughta try gettin' through one of those sessions and see if your crazy sense of humor stays intact."

"Crazy?"  LaFiamma countered.  "I'm not the one who stepped in front of a bullet."  As soon as the words cleared his lips, LaFiamma regretted them.  "Sorry," he said immediately.  "That's wasn't exactly fair."

"Not exactly," Lundy replied softly.

The rode the rest of the way to the ranch in silence.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

Back home, LaFiamma busied himself putting away the supplies the hospital had sent home with them, then detoured by the phone long enough to call Chicken and place an order for some ribs.  Lundy had been complaining about the hospital food for three days, and having had his own encounters with the strange substance that looked like food but tasted like cardboard, Joe was sure the Texan was hungry.

That done, he wandered through the house until he found Lundy stretched out on the bed, napping.  Leaving him there, Joe wandered down to the living room to wait for the food.  Nick, Chicken's latest teen delivery boy, arrived about an hour later with a sack full of ribs and a second sack from the Chinese food place near the barbecue joint.

"Chicken told me to bring somethin' you'd eat, too," he explained.

LaFiamma accepted both bags, sitting them on the coffee table before fishing out his wallet and giving the boy an five dollar tip.

"Thanks, Detective LaFiamma," Nick said, all smiles.

"Tell Chicken I said thanks," he instructed.

"I will."

He watched the boy leave, then turned to go get Lundy, only to find him sitting on the sofa.

"We gonna just stand there or are we gonna eat?"

"Eat," Joe said.  "How about outside?"

Lundy nodded.  Since LaFiamma had moved in with him they'd bought a small table and two chairs so they could eat outside when the weather permitted, and the weather that night was perfect.

Both men tore into their meals with equal vigor and when they were done, LaFiamma cleared their plates, made coffee and brought two full steaming cups back outside.  Handing one to Lundy, he walked over and sat down on the top porch step and watched Fooler rolling in his correl.

"Guess we better have us a talk," Lundy said, moving from the table to the old swing they'd repaired and oiled.  He sat down, sipped his coffee and let the gentle rocking motion relax him.

"Yeah, I guess we'd better," LaFiamma said without looking at his partner.

"Joe, I know what I did was just plain foolish."

LaFiamma turned just far enough so he could meet Lundy's gaze.  "No, what you did was just plain stupid."

Lundy shrugged.  "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"You just said you knew it was stupid."

The Texan fought back the desire to yell.  " _Foolish_ , but good," he amended.

"Lundy, you can't keep trying to protect me out there or we're both going to end up dead."

There, it was said.

"I know that," Lundy snapped, his voice softening as he continued.  "Look, I'm just feelin' a little protective—"

" _Over_ -protective, because of the beatings," LaFiamma finished.  "I know that, but, Lundy, it's gotta stop."

"I know that, too."

LaFiamma stood and leaned back against the porch, his coffee cup in his hand.  "Lundy, I love you, you know that, don't you?"

The blond nodded.  He knew, but LaFiamma didn't say it often.

"But we're cops.  I can't promise you forever."

"Don't you see," Lundy replied softly.  "That's why I was playin' it safe."

"Why?  So you'll get yourself killed before I do?"

Lundy shrugged.  "Would be easier that way," he admitted.  "But what I meant is, I was trying to make sure you did have forever."

"I don't want forever without you any more than you want it without me."

"You mean that?" Lundy asked, the surprise clear on his face.

"Did I ever give you some reason for you to think I wouldn't?"

"No," Lundy admitted.  "We make a helluva a pair," he said, shaking his head.  "I guess hearin' and seein' you get beat like that just spooked me."

"I can accept that," LaFiamma said, moving over to sit on the swing with his lover.  "But I can't accept you trying to keep me safe when I need you to be keeping yourself safe."

Lundy sighed heavily.  "I just don't want to lose you, Joe."

LaFiamma dipped his head.  "I know.  But if we're more interested in taking care of each other then getting the job done, one of us _is_ going to get himself killed."

"Agreed."

"Maybe we should request different partners--"

"No!" Lundy interrupted.  "Hell, I really would need a padded cell if I had to worry about you being out there all the time someone else watchin' your back."

LaFiamma nodded.  "Yeah, me, too.  Stupid idea."

"No new partners," Lundy stated flatly.  "Right?"

"Yeah," Joe agreed.  "But you gotta let me take care of myself, and you gotta take care of yourself."

Lundy nodded, balancing his empty cup on the porch rail.  "I'll try, but I'm not making any promises I don't know I can keep."

"Fair enough, I guess."

"Maybe we oughta ask Joanne for a few days off.  Take that trip to New Orleans...?"

Joe nodded.  "I was thinking the same thing myself."

"You know, lovin' someone, you want to take care of them, protect them.  Seeing you hurt hurts me more than gettin' shot."

LaFiamma leaned down and set his empty cup on the porch.  "Just remember that I'm feeling the same way, okay?"

"Yeah," Lundy said, "that's the trick, isn't it?"

"Tell you what, why don't we agree to work on it, and to talk about it."

"I can do that," Lundy agreed.

"Hmmm, good," Joe replied, edging closer to Lundy, then leaning over to lick his earlobe.  "You remember what you did to me when you brought me home from the party at Chicken's?"

Lundy closed his eyes and smiled.  "I tied you to the bed and I made love to you 'til you begged me to stop," he chuckled.

"I want to do that," the Italian purred.  "I want to make you beg."

Lundy dipped his head, catching Joe's lips with his own.  The kiss was soft and gentle, but both men could feel the desperation below the surface.  They needed to hold each other.  They needed to love and be loved; to heal in more than physical ways.

"You wanna tie me up?" Lundy asked.  "Don't think my shoulder'd appreciate that much."

"I'll just tie up one hand," LaFiamma promised, his eyes bright with longing as he stood and helped his partner up.

"What if I don't beg you to stop?" Levon asked.

"Oh, you'll beg all right," LaFiamma promised.  "First you'll beg me not to stop, then you'll beg me to please stop."

"You're pretty damned sure of yourself, boy," Lundy said as they entered the house.  He wasn't sure he could do what LaFiamma was asking, but to keep what they had, he'd give it his best effort.

"Damned right I am," LaFiamma replied.  "I know you, Levon... inside and out."

"Prove it," Lundy challenged.

And Joe took him up on it…

The End


End file.
